


The Chat's Out of the Bag

by science_fiction



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chat loves Ladybug but Marinette still has a crush on Adrien, F/M, French, I hope that’s a universally recognised phrase, I just needed some fluffy reveal feels, One Shot, accidental reveal, got my eyes on u angsty ass LB fandom, the two of them have a heart-to-heart talk about unrequited love, there are maybe two curse words, they’re like 19 or so now, written mostly adrien’s point of view, you could even say
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 16:05:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9615326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/science_fiction/pseuds/science_fiction
Summary: He liked to daydream about walking past a cute girl in a pink sundress and big straw hat one day, and be absolutely captivated by the adoring way she’d gaze up at the city; because his Lady loves this city just as much as it loves her.





	

The cat’s out of the bag. Idiom. To share information that was previously concealed.

***********

Chat would always be respectful of Ladybug’s choices. She did not want to reveal her civilian identity to anybody – not even her crime-fighting partner. She refused to even let him tell her who he was underneath that ridiculous cat suit. 

He made it clear that he would be ready when she was, and promised that he would never try to pressure her into telling him. But, it was still a little tedious sometimes. Not knowing the name of the person you’ve been head-over-heels for – for no less than the last 5 years – kind of wears down on a guy.

Luckily, Adrien was happy to take smaller victories.

Over the years, she grew comfortable enough to give him the vaguest details about her civilian life, and he would always make sure to share an equal amount of information about himself, in return. 

Like, he knows that her favourite colour is pink, and she knows that his is blue. 

Adrien knows the month of her birthday, but not the exact date. He knows her star sign, which narrows it down a bit, but he never felt inclined to ask her which day – although he would be absolutely ecstatic if she told him without having to question her directly. He always remembers to bring a present for her, regardless. It was a little embarrassing, actually. Someone would always notice it every year, and he’d have to make up an excuse about it being for a ‘co-worker’ (it’s not exactly a lie). He would literally carry the small gift around with him at all times for the whole first week of that month; and try to remember to put it aside when he transforms, so it wouldn’t disappear under the costume along with his civilian clothes (he made that mistake the first time – and the second time). And then he’d place it in his pocket to give to her at the end of a battle or the start of a patrol. 

They patrolled every Sunday night, just because that day had always fit their schedules the best. Although they had defeated Hawkmoth a few years ago, there were still a few lingering butterflies (as well as regular city crimes that the two made a habit of getting involved in when the police aren’t present), so the two still heroes still kept a watchful eye on the beautiful city of Paris. The number and frequency of akuma have dwindled to no more the rare occurrence, but there was no way to be sure how many were left, and Chat Noir and Ladybug still had an obligation to keep up with their hero duties. 

But, besides those ‘hero duties’, Adrien was aware that Ladybug was juggling her studies, an internship, a social life, and casual work at her family’s store, all at once. He studied and worked as well, for sure, but from the sound of it, Ladybug was taking on a lot more responsibility than he was. Her schedule is probably even busier than his is – and his father sure does love to overwork the boy. 

Even with his secure modelling career, Mr Agreste insisted he continue his studies and get a formal degree in Business. And honestly, Adrien was more than happy to do just that; on the one condition that he studied on-campus, and got to choose which university to attend. He’s not-so-coincidentally enrolled at the same university his best friend, Nino. 

Both he and Ladybug have classes on Mondays, so they always had the safe excuse of Sunday being their “rest night before classes start up for the week” excuse whenever someone tried to make plans with them. 

Despite it being a ‘rest day’, they’d always miraculously manage to go to class feeling a bit groggy the next morning.

It never bothered Adrien, though. He’d always feel more refreshed in morning after taking a moment to recall his previous evening with Ladybug.

Of course, Adrien was certain that Ladybug would introduce her civilian identity eventually, but until then, he liked to humour cliché scenarios where they run into each other on the street on day, and they’d immediately recognise the other. The very concept of seeing Ladybug wearing anything other than the skin-tight red spandex made him feel giddy with excitement. He was very certain that he’d recognise her outside of her costume if he met her in public. (Boy, is he wrong.) Paris was a big place, though. They could be living on opposite sides of the city, for all he knows. There’s a chance he’s never passed by her on the street before. 

But, he liked to daydream about walking past a cute girl in a pink sundress and big straw hat one day, and he’d be absolutely captivated by the adoring way she’d gaze at the city, because his Lady loves this city just as much as it loves her. And then she’d turn his way and he’d look into her big blue eyes and he’d just know that she was Ladybug. He’d also like to believe that she’d also recognise him, in that same moment, and they’d just, smile at each other. Laugh a little. They’d walk up to one another, and greet them casually, as though this wasn’t the first time they’ve met – because it isn’t, really. She’d probably call him ‘Kitty’, even outside of his hero costume. 

One of them would ask the other if they’d like to stop for coffee and cake, and they’d take the whole day to properly introduce themselves. Adrien would get the chance to show her the more responsible side of him – a side she’d probably like more that the carefree, flirty Chat Noir side of him. He can only imagine how difficult it is to take him seriously in a full-body leather costume with a bell and tail. 

She definitely must have seen his face plenty of times on posters and billboards around the city – and she’d laugh at herself for not recognising him until seeing him in person. She’d joke about how different his professional persona is to his hero one, and would smile sweetly and ask if she could get to know the person between those identities. And he’d feel like he was on cloud nine. 

He feels that way just imagining it. 

Of course, Ladybug would actually probably be too shocked to laugh and have a calm conversation over coffee if she ever met him by accident before she was ready for the reveal, but let’s not ruin Adrien’s fantasy, here. 

But, of course, Adrien is Chat Noir. He is the physical representation of misfortune. 

So, it’s not all that surprising that his novel-like fantasy-reveal doesn’t quite go as he had hoped. 

****************

It started off as a typical, boring, Sunday night patrol. The city was as peaceful as usual, but it brought them some peace of mind keep a watchful eye from above, regardless.  
After the first hour of their patrol, they give in favour of perching themselves atop the Notre Dame Cathedral. 

The moment they touched-down, Ladybug sighed. Adrien immediately recognised that as one of Ladybug’s ‘troubled’ sighs. Something was on her mind. 

“Is there something bothering you, My Lady? Long day? Stressful week? Would you like a massage before we call it a night?” 

Chat Noir prides himself in his all of charismatic skills. Besides his superhero abilities, he considered himself very good at ‘making jokes and flirting to the point that Ladybug would feign annoyance, but not overdo it the point that she would genuinely be pissed off at him’. His Lady would usually brush off his advances with a sassy comment. It was just how their dynamic had always worked. 

“Tempting as it is, not today, Kitty.”

“Boy troubles?” he winked.

“Only on Sunday nights and every akuma attack between them.”

Chat gasped, as dramatically as he could muster. It has been a long week, to be honest. Finals were coming up, so he’s been quite busy trying to keep up with assessments and studying between modelling work and hero work, and he imagined that she was in a similar boat. 

The responsible thing to do would be suggesting they head home early tonight, and actually catch up on some sleep on their ‘rest day’ before another eventful week begins. But, all of the responsibility that Adrien was known for seemed to fly to the wind while he was wearing this leather costume. Call him selfish, but he relished in these precious Sunday-night hours that he got to spend with the most amazing woman in all of Paris. 

“Would you like to talk about it, Buggaboo?” 

She seemed to relax a little at the words, and sat down. She patted her hand against the floor (or, roof, technically) next to her. A small invitation indicating that he should sit down. Chat Noir was more than happy to oblige. 

“You caught me, Chat. I’m having boy troubles. Here I am, swamped by all this hero business, and study, and work, and more work, and all I can think about is some dumb boy. Me, one half of the Hero-of-Paris duo, and I’m bummed out because I’ve finally come to accept that I may never actually manage to gain the attention of the boy I’ve liked since middle school.” 

She immediately winced at her own words – because, if she was feeling this way, she could only imagine how Chat Noir must feel about her. 

This was always a tough conversation to have, because Ladybug knew how Chat felt about her, and didn’t like to bring it up in case it stirred some unpleasant feelings, but he would always insist that she should talk about her problems; especially if it was bothering her too much. ‘It just wouldn’t do, to have my Lady distracted in battle because of some stupid boy that is too oblivious to recognise your feelings!’ is what he would say. And it was true. That’s why the two of them made sure to talk about things, when they were sad, or angry, or worried, or just overthinking something. The last thing you need when you’re risking your life in the heat of battle is to be unfocused on the task at hand. But, underneath that excuse, they made sure to discuss their feelings because they genuinely cared about each other and wanted to ease their worries where possible, and knew it wasn’t healthy to bottle things up. 

He has heard about this boy before. They have a conversation about him, maybe only once per year. Her crush on this mystery man has slowly dwindled over time, mostly because, as she matured, she seems to have put all of her other commitments above her silly crush. There is hardly time to be concerned about a cute boy when you’re focusing on your competitive career choice, and saving the city every other week.

Chat’s been told plenty of stories about this boy to know how she feels about him. He’s heard her speak essays about the guy; about how kind he is – even to people who treat him poorly, and how supportive he is to all his friends. He’s seen her tear up while talking about him. He remembers her tales of how she apparently wasn’t even able to form a sentence around the boy in the first two years of her crush, but they’ve managed to become good friends over time. But, that’s part of the problem. She values their friendship more than her crush, and his Lady just isn’t the kind of person who would risk a friendship for the sake of her romantic interests (and he can relate to that), so their relationship is definitely at a standstill. She’d never make the first move without a big push. 

One part of Chat Noir wants to be that encouraging friend who can give her that push, because the worst thing that could happen is that she gets rejected — and sure, it’ll hurt for a little while, but if that boy values their friendship as much as she does, they’ll remain on good terms, and she’ll finally gain some closure about this probably-unrequited love. She’d definitely be strong enough to move on, and find will definitely find someone more willing to reciprocate her feelings, some day. Maybe, without this mystery man in the way, Chat would even get the chance to have his own romantic feelings taken more seriously. 

But, a louder, more jealous part of him, screams at him to put himself first for once, and to encourage her to get over this boy already, because the actual worst that could happen is that the guy gives her a chance – because she’s the most perfect girl in the world so like, who the fuck would reject her, honestly? – And then they fall in love and end up living happily ever after together, and then Ladybug will surely never return his feelings, because she’s such a good and loyal person. 

It was a tough choice.

He went for the neutral option: Make a joke. 

“My lady, this boy still hasn’t fallen for you? You should suggest he get his eyes checked if he’s really so blind to your affection.”

She chuckled. Ding, Ding. We have a winner. The joke worked. Chat Noir gave himself a little pat on the back in his mind. 

“I think you’re misjudging how obvious my affection tactics are. I’ll sneak him one extra macaroon when he buys a dozen, but, I guess I do that for all of my friends.”

Hm. She sneaks an extra macaroon. Just like Marinette does. 

“Macaroons, My Lady? Do you work at a café? Do you wear a cute uniform? I can already imagine it!”

His mind zipped through several cafe uniforms he’s seen in the city, trying to picture what Ladybug would like in each of them, and his thoughts stopped on the image of her in a cute maid-like uniform. He had to bookmark that picture, to get back to later.

Another small laugh came from Ladybug. Chat was on a roll today. 

“I work at a bakery, Chat.”

Hm. Just like… Marinette does…? Ladybug works at her parents shop, just like Marinette does. 

Stop thinking about Mari while talking to Ladybug, you idiot, he chastised himself. No good would come out of comparing the two and pulling together a ridiculous conspiracy theory in hopes that his close friend Marinette and his partner were the same person. There had to be a bunch of family-owned bakeries in Paris; it’s not so unusual. 

“I’ll have to visit every bakery in the city, then. I’ll know it’s you give me 13 macaroons.”

“And how will I know that it’s you to give the extra macaroon?” 

“Just give one to every handsome blonde model you see, and I’ll figure it out on our behalf.”

It was a cute idea. If only Ladybug would agree to it. 

“Model..?”

Oh. Oh, no. That slipped out. But, he supposed it was fine. I mean, he knows that she works at a family bakery, so it’s only fair that she knows what he does for a living, right? 

Although, perhaps this would be considered too personal. Too specific. They had rules about being vague, as to not encourage the other to piece things together. Those rules are crumbling around them, as the conversation continues. 

Chat Noir tries to save himself, with a couple of jokes, but really just digs a bigger hole for himself. 

“I know it might be hard to believe, but my face is quite dashing underneath this mask, My Lady. And you should see how my hair looks, all styled and ready for a photoshoot. My transformation always manages to make it look like a pigeon’s nest! Plagg doesn’t seem to care about my fragile, professional image, at all.” 

“Huh,” Ladybug hummed, and took a moment to soak in this information, “We might be more compatible than I thought, Kitty.”

“Don’t tell me your type is ‘attractive blonde models’, My Lady. I’d be flattered and all, but a little threatened by this boy whose essentially just a cooler version of me.”

Each time he made her laugh, she’d seem more alive. It took his breath away.

He likes to imagine that this crush of hers doesn’t cause her to smile as much as he does, and that makes him feel more confident about himself. 

“I meant that we both work in the same industry, kitty. The internship I have; it’s for a fashion company. But yes, this boy I like does happen to be a dumb blonde model, as well. What a coincidence.”

Chat was so captivated by all these new pieces of information that he did not take the time to compare Ladybug to Marinette this time (even though, surprise, she happens to be interning and working in the exact same fields). 

He was simply just too ecstatic and too oblivious to put two-and-two together. Ladybug had said that they were compatible. 

But then he noticed that Ladybug’s smile has started to drift downwards. She was staring down at her feet, suddenly solemn. 

She looked like she was about to cry. 

“Oh my gosh, Ladybug, I’m so sorry if I upset you! I’m positive that this guy must be absolutely amazing if he’s managed to capture your undivided attention for so long—”

“His name is Adrien. Do you, uh, know him, maybe?”

She looked him in the eyes, and her stare seemed to pierce straight through him. It was like, she could see right through him. 

It took Chat Noir a whole minute to make a response, but he still wasn’t sure if he had processed what she said properly. There’s no way she said Adrien, right? 

“U-uh, who?”

“Adrien Agreste. You’ve, uh, kind of met him before? I think. Remember our first encounter with Vulpina? It just so happens that that dumb blonde model is the boy I’ve had a crush on this whole time.”

Chat Noir knew that the Vulpina incident was a sore spot for her. It was the only time she had been willing to give up her miraculous. Ladybug had been off her game for weeks after their first battle with her. They had to sit down and practically have an intervention about it; which was about when they started this whole ‘let’s talk about our feelings so we’re never distracted by any unpleasant thoughts in the middle of battle’ thing. And over the years, he’s seen her stand her ground in similar situations, regardless of how threatening the akuma could be, and he’s very proud of her for it. She’d always come up with a plan to save everyone, rather than allowing herself to give up. 

With Hawkmoth incapacitated, though, the akuma don’t even care about their miraculous’ anymore, so they haven’t needed to worry about a similar situation arising since catching the villain. But, that also means that they’re a little more unpredictable, and less inclined to seek out the two heroes. They prioritise their own agendas of revenge. The possessed people usually wreak havoc on the city or terrorise specific people until he and Ladybug cleanse them.

Chat Noir takes far too long to reply to Ladybug’s question, and she frowns.

“Earth to Chat Noir. I’m sure you don’t have to think so long and hard about whether or not you know the guy whose face is on that huge billboard we passed by on the way here.”

“Ah, sorry. I was thinking back, on Vulpina,” he explained, “I, uh, yeah. I know him. I guess.”

I am him. 

He wanted to tell her. He’s never felt so desperate to tell her. He could feel his palms getting clammy underneath his gloves while she stared at him skeptically. 

And then, suddenly, her eyes widened a little bit, and the smallest gasp escapes her lips. She clearly looked like a person who had just received some shocking news. 

The atmosphere was thick with an awkward air between them, as if she also had something she wanted to say, but wasn’t sure if it was okay to do so.

Come on, Ladybug. Ask me if I’m Adrien. You’ve totally figured it out by now, right?

But, Ladybug didn’t say a word. She could be so stubborn and frustrating and it’s not fair that Adrien doesn’t even get 5 minutes to be happy about the fact that Ladybug has pretty much just confirmed that she has had a crush on his alter-ego this whole time. 

They both stood up, as if they were having a literal stand-off; the kind you’d see in old cowboy movies. Ladybug is whole head shorter than him, but she is still much more intimidating than Chat Noir would ever be, in his own opinion. 

Of course, she’s figured it out. As if his whole demeanour wasn’t a big red sign that points at himself and said ‘Hello, I am Adrien Agreste’ in big bold letters.

But, regardless of the fact that it’s pretty obvious right now, he tried to come up with something to derail the topic, anyway. Chat Noir was a good liar, but in this particular moment, he couldn’t think of a single story to come up with. 

So he went to his default options: flirt or make a pun.

“Looks like the cat is out of the bag, huh?”

“Chat—” Ladybugs voice was a warning that didn’t reach his ears. 

“I’d like if you could call me Adrien, just this once, My Lady.” 

He felt a little nauseous, requesting such a thing. 

“Chat—” She tried again. 

“You don’t have to tell me who you are, Ladybug. Not until you’re ready. But, hey! Turns out the dumb blonde boy who you have a crush on is actually me. It really is a wild coincidence, huh? And it’s pretty obvious how I feel about you, so it’s totally mutual! And I’m sure that, whoever you turn out to be outside of the costume, I’ll be more than willing to accept—”

“I’m Marinette.”

Huh. 

Marinette? As in, his friend Marinette? One fourth of the Ayla-Nino-Adrien-Marinette quartet? The girl he’s spent time with almost every week for the past five years? The one interning as a designer/seamstress at his own father’s company? That Marinette? The girl who also has blue eyes and raven hair? The girl whose favourite colour is also pink? Whose birthday happens to be the same month as Ladybug’s? 

He closed his eyes, and pictured Mari’s face in his mind, and then opened them to compare the image to Ladybug. It was a pretty much a perfect match. 

Honestly, Adrien is dumbfounded as to how it took him 5 years to see the resemblance. 

But, what’s equally as shocking is he had been so captivated by Ladybug this whole time that Adrien never recognised Marinette’s feelings. He always assumed that she was just, really shy around famous boys, when they were younger. He’s never been able to humour who her civilian identity was because who could possibly be as perfect as Ladybug? 

He’s been that silly crush of hers this whole time. 

Unexpectedly, everything seems to fit together quite nicely, as far as Adrien was concerned. He kind of anticipated himself to struggle a bit more with the fact that two of his best friends were the same person, but he was only pleasantly surprised. They might need some time to adjust their dynamic, for sure, but this is a perfect cliché happy ending for the two of them, in his personal opinion. Perhaps, even more wonderful than his fantasies of meeting Ladybug as a stranger. 

His Lady has loved him this whole time, and he’s always loved her. She’s loved both Chat and Adrien as her dearest friends, and happened to be romantically interested in at least one half of him. 

However, he was pretty certain that there was no way that Ladybug was ready to reveal her identity. She probably did it out of obligation, because it would be unfair of her not to after figuring out who he was. 

“Lady—, uh,” he wasn’t sure which name to call her by. “I know you weren’t ready to tell me. You didn’t have to. But I’m glad you did.”

She laughed, gently, and the sound lifted the weight off his shoulders. 

“Honestly, Chat, if I didn’t admit it right now, I’m sure it’d take you less than a week to figure it out. I’d give you hint, like, one extra macaroon, and you’d totally make a scene in my parent’s bakery. Scare away all of our customers, or something. Or we’d run into each other at work, and it’d suddenly click, and you’d make a scene in front of our co-workers.”

“Adrien,” he corrected, grinning from ear to ear. “Call me Adrien. Just once, please! And then you’ll never have to say it to me in costume ever again!” 

For a cat, his personality had a much closer resemblance to a puppy. He was smug and playful and flirty and charismatic and brave and reckless, but he was so happy at this moment that Ladybug just couldn’t refuse.

“Adrien.”

She smiled.

He almost squealed with joy. 

Saying the name of her long-time crush brought the feeling of butterflies to her stomach for the first time in years. 

********************

The next time Adrien saw Marinette, he found her gazing up at the Eiffel Tower from a park just a few blocks away. In this moment, the city was beautiful and at peace.  
She was wearing a pink dress and large straw sunhat. Her hair consisted of gentle waves flowing raven hair, sitting just over her shoulders. Just like how he’d always imagined Ladybug would without the costume. She looked down from the tower to almost immediately lock eyes with him, as if she could sense his approach. (He wouldn't be surprised if she could.)

“Kitty,” she winked at him, “You’re on time, surprisingly.”

“I’m a very punctual man, both in and outside of the costume, My Lady. I assure you,” Adrien extended his hand, and she took it. He planted a gentle kiss on her knuckles before leading her, hand-in-hand, to this cute little coffee shop that Chat Noir had been boasting about for years. She specifically made sure to never visit this café before, because she always wanted Chat Noir to be the first person to take her there. 

Despite the fact that they’ve known each for years now, both as heroes and civilians, they felt as though they had a lot of catching up to do, and this was their first chance to do so. 

Their first official date. 

It looks like some idle fantasies do come true.

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be a one shot, but I might be convinced to make a cute follow-up post-reveal fic if people are keen for more B^))


End file.
